A higher purpose

        I can't give you an adequate break down of the pros and cons of a strike on Syria. While I know a lot, I am not well versed in the military, political and economic factors that go into making a fully informed decision. So what I can only talk about is the moral implications of a strike (or refusing to strike) as I see them. The Geneva protocol is a protocol that finds its roots in the Hague conventions, which was one of the first modern day attempts at brokering peace and setting limitations for war. One of these limitations is a strict prohibition of projectile objects being used as weapons for the purpose of suffocation (i.e. chemical weapons). This was passed in 1899, 114 years ago. The Geneva conventions adopted it as protocol and the general assembly has passed several resolutions reaffirming the United Nations commitment to this particular piece of doctrine. In other words, most of the world is in pretty much agreement that chemical warfare is simply unacceptable and inhumane. Yet Assad has been allowed to amass large amounts of chemical weaponry and use said weapons on his own people. This is unacceptable.
        I don't know what the United States is going to do, but the world needs to respond to this travesty. If the United States is the only responder, then shame on the world for not responding. As humans, chemical weaponry should be taboo. If we idly look the other way as these weapons are used right in front of our faces, then why do we even have a Geneva protocol? Why do we have any sort of international code, if it can be nonchalantly broken with no expected penalty? This is possibly one of the most clear cut decisions out there. Either we are a country and a world of ideals or we aren't. If we find ourselves in the former group then we must strike. If we find ourselves in the latter, then a strike isn't in our future.
     We need to strike for our ideals. Have there been chemical attacks where the world has looked the other way, yes I'm sure there has been. But this is different. We can watch people dying on video from these weapons. We aren't just looking the other way with blissful ignorance. We are abandoning what has been considered a moral standard all around the world. So please, don't talk to me about petty politics of this "being another Iraq" or "none of our business" because it is our business. It's everyone's business. And the entire world should be doing something about it. Unfortunately America and France seem to be the only two countries at the vanguard of our humanity. 

Your internship in New York doesn't make you a New Yorker

                I love how some people believe they are so open minded that they can become legitimate members of every city, culture, and place they visit. It reeks of arrogance. In their mind, going to a few tourist attractions, living in a posh refurbished house they were given for an internship and eating NYC cart food makes them undergo a magical transformation that allows them to be a "New Yorker". Well I'm here to remind you that you are not a New Yorker, Bostonian, DCer or what ever city you happened to intern at. And it's not because you weren't born there. It's because I believe, and at least I know this is true for New York City, that the drudgery of the city, the unspectacular moments of being on the train, taking the bus, having your train canceled, missing your favorite halal cart guy before he goes to lunch and other sort of mundane things are what makes up the bulk of NYC. You can't properly appreciate the oddities that can only exist within the city until you've lived through the monotonous hum of what the city is made of.
             Also, when you live in a place temporarily, you only make short term investments in that place. Perhaps you decided to give a few dollars to a homeless man when walking down the street. Or you decided to buy a starburst from the teen selling it on the train to keep himself "out of trouble". These gestures, while kindhearted in nature, aren't long term investments. Compare this to those who have spent hours helping rebuild NYC for free after Sandy. How about the mentors who day in and day out mentor troubled kids in the city, accepting no compensation but smiles and brightened futures. These people are making long term investments because they realize that when they put more into the community they live in, their lives become richer. When you have felt that NYC has given you so much that you want to give it all back, then call yourself a New Yorker.
          New York is a safe haven for so many that it would be irresponsible of me to not mention those who have fled to the city for its open minded culture. Many irresponsible teenagers and college dropouts come to a city where they know judgement won't be passed, and even if it were, then you're fully within your right to tell that person to fuck off. Those people are New Yorkers by default. They have no where else to go and so they call New York City their home because that's all they have.
        And right along with them are all the workers and everyday people who aren't fortunate enough to go to an elite University. These are the people who serve hot dogs. Fix your roads. Unclog your pipes. Clean your hotel rooms. Basically anything you think seamlessly goes on in the city is in some part facilitated by them. For them New York City is just a place. They don't mindlessly take part in the revery we can clearly see in your poor photography of skylines and waterfronts. They don't have time for such merrymaking. Instead they have to make a living. But once in awhile they'll go over to Coney Island on a friday night. Exhausted and feasting on sandwiches they had prepared beforehand, you see them sit down with their family on the sand, while fireworks illuminate the sky above them. This is their vacation. This is their New York City.
        New York and any city is an actual place. Not some fanciful wonderland, where with business savvy and a blind eye, you can live the "good life". There are plenty of people who have lived in the city all their lives and will never be New Yorkers. That's because the final step to being New Yorker isn't the flat out rejection of all of the wonderful things you are currently experiencing, but instead the acceptance of everything else the city has to the offer, good and bad.
    

Where do we go from here?

                   We are upset. We are outraged. We want blood and some of you might have been thinking that this time it isn't enough to just put up a facebook status. Some of you might have thought that perhaps now is the time for some retribution. This retribution comes in various forms. Many want to protest and are protesting. Many want to riot and destroy things (typically their own neighborhoods, which is a shame). And some just want to live out the Hammurabi code to its fullest extent. A life for a life, specifically a white life for a black life. And all of this want is justified. Those of you who look down on this, need to be quiet. You don't know. You don't know the disappointment a minority feels as they think about this "colorblind" justice system. You don't fully comprehend the fear blacks and other minorities now feel as they see yet another young man die because he "looked suspicious". You don't know the anger minorities have, since their country and justice system has failed them. Yet you expect us to adhere to a sense of honor, stewardship, and overall justice. Where were those virtues for Trayvon?
                But this post isn't about you. We've been far too focused on you and it's time for us to take back what is ours. But we need to do it on our own terms. That's why I plea for those of you who choose to react emotionally, do so with words. For those of you who wish to cry, sing out to the community. For those of you who wish to shoot and kill, fashion bullets out of ballots and euthanize this unjust system. If you want to start a war, then let us charge with a well coordinated brigade, not a haphazard militia. I am not promoting inaction. I am not asking us to put our pitchforks away. I merely want us to succeed in the most effective way possible, if not for our community, then for Trayvon.
            Does this mean no violence? Well, some of you might find a well coordinated way to perpetrate violence in response to all of this. And that would be terrorism. I am not at full liberty to pass judgement on you for doing so. While I am outraged about this situation, my pale skin makes it so that the brunt of this tragedy doesn't sting quite as much as it does for those of you who are people of color (this doesn't mean that I am not stereotyped based on other physical attributes). I don't know if you feel these acts of violence are necessary just to regain your sanity and security. But before you do, I want you to think about our morals. I want you to think about your children and your loved ones. I want you think about us in a  colorblind sense for a second, so that you might be able to empathize for a second for all those who you are intending to harm. Then if you really feel it is necessary, I will ask you to shoot me first, not because I love the people I'm protecting, but because I love our dignity as a community. And for those of you who feel dignity has gone to the wayside, I urge you to think of the innocent lives that might be caught in the crossfire. Such lives cannot be weighed less than Trayvon's. For when we begin picking and choosing the value of human life based on color, we are no better than those who oppress us. Also let's not forget our white brothers and sisters, who stand with us in unity, not only when it is convenient, but also when it is necessary. Will you risk harming them for a misguided sense of justice?
            This post is for minorities and our allies. If you do not fall within that group and feel threatened by this post, then good. We are threatened all the time and the fact that we have finally decided to take action should be unsettling for you. I am not going to say I don't condone violence. Such a message would distort the complicated feelings I have towards violence. I personally would never engage in it and I believe the previous paragraph outlined my plea for those who intend to do so. But when it comes to talk of violence and it's possible ramifications, immediately ostracizing people isn't the answer. We need the thought of this violence out in the open that way we are all honest with how much this has hurt us.
          Some of you might think that none of us actually consider violence a viable option, and I hope that is true. But unfortunately something this triggering and this horrible is bound to have negative ramifications. To assume violence will not happen would be careless. That is why I wrote this post. To not only stop any small conflagration of violence, but also to re-purpose it into a meaningful cry for social change.
        

The African Double Standard

            The international community and American political sphere has went crazy over the recent coup/revolution that occurred in Egypt. Everyone with a little political savvy or people who don't know when to keep their mouths shut (I consider myself in the latter group) have either picked sides or felt a need to keep close watch on the political future of Egypt. And I'd be a complete hypocrite if I didn't admit I was doing the same. I immediately sided with the democratic process (i.e. sure Morsi may have sucked, but you voted him in), while saving my own ass by claiming ignorance to how bad things are, therefore withholding judgement on the actions of the Egyptian people. Honestly as I said before, people like me and many others seriously needed to say absolutely nothing. Specifically http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/05/opinion/brooks-defending-the-coup.html?hp this nytimes article by David Brooks is a perfect example of the exact opposite opinion to mine, but just as presumptuous and patronizing. I won't get into the specific details on why David Brooks is completely out of line, but I can acknowledge that we're both making asses of ourselves with each comment. So instead of discussing the merits of the situation, I want to bring up the fact that this very occurrence has been happening in Africa for the past 3 decades and yet most African countries only get a small fraction of international attention in comparison to Egypt. Sorry western countries of the world, your bias is showing a little.
       One might argue, " Raymond, African governments are getting toppled over all the time, if Egypt makes this a habit, we'll stop caring about it as well." Such an argument is of course incredibly ignorant, seeing that there have been many successful African governments with steady turnover and healthy political elections, but a good recent counter example to this would be that of Mali. Remember when Mali suffered a coup? No? Really because it was a pretty big deal, seeing that at the time Mali was considered the golden standard for African democracies (some people still think it is, but the coup definitely hurt its perception). And while the Mali coup certainly made it to the front page once, it immediately faded in the background of typical American hooplah (some of that hooplah was important mind you, but there's important hooplah happening now, yet Egypt still  remains the talk of the town).
     I don't know what I'm asking for by writing this. The point is I feel like a hypocritical asshole and misery enjoys company. And I'm kind of tired of people who parade as politics lovers, when in fact they just like being able to talk about the latest political events and don't really care about politics equally. Own up to your bias and realize that most of us don't honestly care about what happens in Egypt. The majority of us are just using it as a spectacle. 

Fuck off Neo-Liberalist American

           My facebook feed is flooded with congratulation posts about the recent decision of the Supreme Court concerning the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act. DOMA is unconstitutional. They've said it. It's one huge victory for the LGBTQ community and basically anyone who believes that individuals should have the right to choose to be with whoever they love. But if we look at the arduous journey for equality in this country, this victory is just a foot in the door. I can only imagine that individuals from the LGBTQ community rejoiced with deep breaths and affirming tears. The fight has been won. They can finally rest for an hour or so. But the war on inequality, the everlasting struggle to allow targeted identities to be the people they want to be without any hindrance is still persistent and menacing. And they understand that, just like I understand how alienated me and my friends felt when we saw the Supreme Court affirm a post racial reality that is only real for white Americans. Yet my newsfeed is filled only with rejoicing particularly from people who aren't from the LGBTQ community. And that's fine. But rejoice with an inside voice because that's not your victory. It isn't my victory either. While I am an ally, I could never say that I fought as hard as I could have for the LGBTQ community. I didn't shed tears when prop 8 was put into place. I didn't stand alongside protesters and I didn't risk my life and livelihood to be associated with the LGBTQ community. Instead I scolded a few friends for misusing the term gay and wore a fucking button. And that's ok. But now that the time has come from celebration, please leave me off the invite list. I don't deserve to take part in any grandiose celebrations and honestly I don't want to right now since my community and my rights have potentially taken a drastic step back.
         But what bothers me the most is that all around the country, in upper class cities and college towns, hordes of neo-liberalist predominantly white Americans will turn this into a spectacle. They will throw parties and write superficial facebook statuses. They'll have a pseudo political conversation with their one gay friend about "how they feel". And then afterwards it'll be business as usual. They'll go back to their bias free lives, while some of their gay friends will find themselves wondering why so much hatred and discrimination still exists. The LGBTQ community won today, but tomorrow the same thought I have now will pop into their heads: "I thought we got passed this." Indeed we did think that. But now that's it's tomorrow, we've realized that there's so much more to do. 

Poor People don't want to hear about the struggle

            While I appreciate the intellectual conversation that surrounds: race, socioeconomic status, sexual preference, gender roles, and other social justice topics, sometimes I feel as if people forget that they are privileged to even be able to sit back and ponder these inequalities. I'm included in that group. I'm a privileged minority student at the University of Michigan and while I do face inequality and racial stigmas on campus, I don't have to feed a family, work 12 hrs a day and forgo health care. And when I try to have candid conversation about what course of action should be taken for those who are from a low socioeconomic status, I find that most activist refuse to budge and will only accept unrealistic concessions. Activist are quick to say that the poor needs x, y and z, and they won't budge till they get it, but when you're reality is barely paying the bills, sometimes just x is enough of a victory for you. So honestly, while I don't want to shut down conversation about these issues, I think we need to recognize when we sound like complete ass hats when we talk. No one cares about the capitalist machine. No one cares about the theoretical implications of identity negotiations after a given election. No one cares about media bias. No one cares about how the American lexicon is designed to oppress minorities. Now it's a tad unfair to say no one cares. Poor people do care. They're not stupid. They know that the current system and nation isn't right. But when you're starving and rent is 3 weeks past due, sometimes all you care about is getting that extra paycheck. And if you need to appease the white patriarchal capitalist system to get it, then so be it. 

You are the biggest loser

        I am so tired of people who take body issues lightly. In their world obesity is just another hurdle one needs to get passed in life and the only reason fat people don't make it over is because they're too lazy to get up from the couch. What they don't know is the psychological prison someone can develop from being fat. I'm going to be honest. I have some meat on me and not all of it is white. So pardon my pathos in this post because I'm tired of the hypocritical nonsense I get from people regarding my weight. First to any mean spirited person who might want to reply to this post, I know that I'm fat. I know that my weight isn't healthy and my body image isn't where I want it to be. I also understand that I potentially put myself at risk by not lowering my body weight. I also know that I have the physical capability to do so. I say this because I honestly get tired of people who are in good shape harping on about how getting back into shape is just a mindset that needs to be developed. Sometimes it's a little bit more than just a switch of determination that needs to be flickered. There are habits and insecurities that have been ingrained in our minds that a quick motivational speech and training montage theme song (left on rerun) won't fix. Often it's a struggle because with every single pound you drop you feel like you're negotiating between two selves: one that you hated but wanted to love and another that you love the idea of, but find yourself hating. Society gives us a skewed sense of body image, which makes it impossible for us to ever trust our own evaluation of our body. It's funny because some people claim that the media shows images of people who have chosen a certain lifestyle. ; a healthy, able bodied one. Of course when news of anorexia and bulimia come out, they begin to talk about rehabilitation and therapy, as if their lifestyle needs to be repaired with the utmost care, while our lifestyle simply needs a gym membership card. And what's worse is that the most insecure in our ranks are recruited to drop a ton of weight and compassion. Then they're given a microphone so that way our newly reborn brother or sister can lead us back to the promiseland, while regurgitating the same dismissive crap we've always been hearing. They are the worst because they honestly believe that because they were able to do it, then we're able to do it as well. They are completely ignorant to the fact that everyone's weight problem is different. It's not even only a weight problem. It's a body problem. We're not happy with our bodies and those who say they are tend to be among the most insecure. I have no doubt it's a natural part of self improvement that drives our slight dissatisfaction with our current body. But the media and culture exacerbates that small insecurity we all share.
  I recognize that my body issues, while at times very tough for me,don't even come close to some of things I've seen my friends deal with. I recognize that my sister and mother have it so much harder than I do because fortunately my body doesn't always need to be a prime asset to prove my manhood. But that doesn't mean I can't be supportive of the people around me. It doesn't mean my struggle is any less important than theirs. It means that we need to collectively tell those who are quick to judge to shut the fuck up. It means that our weight problems, from just a few extra pounds you regret to severe obesity, need to be treated with the utmost care. So no don't tell me to just lose the weight. Don't tell me I'm lazy either. Just don't say anything until I ask you. Then give me your sought after opinion, while remembering that we can walk in each other's shoes, but not each other's bodies.